Giving the captain the respect he deserves

This week, 10 years ago Steven Gerrard, made his first team debut for Liverpool Football Club. Since then Gerrard has gone on to captain the club and has established himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe. To put it quite simply, Gerrard is easily Liverpool's most important player. 10 years is a long time for a player to have spent at any club and to commemorate the occasion the Liverpool FC official website has declared it "Steven Gerrard Week."

Our skipper has been very highly praised, and rightly so. Even so, I can't help but feel he does not fully get all the respect he deserves. Even though he's considered one of the best players in the world, I don't feel he gets enough recognition.

In my honest opinion, Steven Gerrard is the best player in England. Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United is obviously a fantastic player (although I hate his guts) and he's one of the most talented attacking players in Europe. I think last season there was no player better than Ronaldo (because scoring 40+ goals is a feat itself, but scoring 40+ from the midfield is insane). But in terms of overall playing ability, Gerrard is the best in England and I'll explain my rationale behind this.

Steven Gerrard is one of the most complete midfield players in the history of the game. He's got an amazing shot and amazing vision - getting nearly 20 goals and 20 assists a season. Physically, he's got everything you would want in a football player: he's quick, he's pretty tall, he's strong, and he's got amazing stamina. To accompany great attacking prowess and physical talents, he's been blessed with great defensive capabilities. Liverpool legend and former England international, John Barnes, believes, "He is the most important player Liverpool has and could be the most important player England has. In my opinion he is the most complete midfield player in Europe. If you look at attacking midfield players with Zidane and Ronaldinho and you look at defensive midfielders like Claude Makelele, creative midfield players with the passing of Beckham. He can do it all. For me he is the most complete midfield player in the world." To have the skills of 4 world class midfielders attributed to him is no small praise and there are few midfielders in the history of the sport who have such an honour.

Because he is such a complete midfielder he's extremely versatile. He's best known for playing as a central midfielder, where he is in the middle of the action dictating our play. This is where he has played for the majority of this season, being one of our better players. This allows him to showcase both his defensive and offensive capabilities. However, we must not forget that he can play in a variety of possitions better than many players can. He broke into the Liverpool first team 10 years ago playing on the right hand side of the midfield - and when he won the PFA Player of the Year award it was given to him because of his outstanding season on the right of our midfield in the 05/06 season. During that season he was given a free role out wide, much like the great Pavel Nedved of Juventus. Last season we saw Gerrard establish a great partnership with Fernando Torres playing as a central midfielder - but higher up the pitch in a more attacking role than a regular central midfielder. And who can forget his performance in extra-time against AC Milan in the Champions League final of '05, playing as a right back. That was a quality performance from him, playing in a very different role than he is used to.

Steven Gerrard is a player who enjoys making a name for himself on the big stage. He has scored in many many important games, as well as many cup finals. God knows how many games where Gerrard has managed to rescue Liverpool from an embarrassing defeat or draw and give us a win. Some of my greatest sporting memories have been the ball flying from our captain's right foot into the back of the net. I think the best example of this is the 2006 FA Cup final, where two goals from the skipper (including a last minute stunner) allowed the Reds to claw their way back into the game and eventually win it on penalties.

Aside from his playing ability, Steven Gerrard is a leader on a team of captains. Liverpool have an extraordinary number of players who have either captained another club club or their national team (or both). These players include Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Dirk Kuyt, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Robbie Keane, Yossi Benayoun, and I think Martin Skrtel has captained Slovakia once. Despite having all of these leader-figures on the team, one man stands out as the definite leader. He inspires the team with his performances on the pitch and is always ontop of players making sure they give it their all. As a local lad playing for his boyhood team he knows what the club means to the fans and he'll do his all to get the win for his club.

He's so good that even the Queen of England made him a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Now tell me that isn't cool.

Steven Gerrard is a player of tremendous talent and he's easily the best player I've ever seen in a Liverpool shirt. He's a player that will be remembered as a great in the following decades and it's really great to be a fan of a team that has a player with so much quality. He's a living legend and I think he should get a lot more respect from Liverpool fans and from non-Liverpool fans.

Steven Gerrard: Living Legend

In other Liverpool news Dirk Kuyt and Fernando Torres scored two fine goals while on international duty with Holland and Spain respectively. Congradulations boys! Now come home and do the same for us!

And because I have spent so much time praising the Liverpool captain, here is a YouTube video highlighting his excellence:

Dirk Kuyt - Our Flying Dutchman

A lot has happened in the world of Liverpool Football Club since my last posting. Tottenham once again managed to beat Liverpool at White Heart Lane, this time beating a side of mostly second string players (bar Agger and Torres) quite badly, with the score of 4-2. It's not a good result, but it was in the Carling Cup and I don't really care about that competition.

That was last Wednesday. On Saturday Liverpool hosted Bolton Wanderers, who are an absolutely terrible side. In the first half we were all over them, but didn't quite have any incisiveness. Dirk Kuyt opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after the post. Bolton had a goal disallowed as their captain was obstructing Pepe Reina during a corner kick. Liverpool were lucky when Ricardo Gardener hilariously slipped in front of an open goal. Shortly after Fernando Torres was introduced as a substitute, he set up Steven Gerrard for a header, completing the scoring at 2-0. A good win that keeps us on pace with Chelsea in the league tables.

Subject to heavy criticism last year, Dirk Kuyt is a huge part behind Liverpool's successes this season

Liverpool have been impressive in the league this season and this is down to the form of some key players. One such player is Dutch international Dirk Kuyt, who has been in imperious form this season. Some Liverpool fans will nod in agreement, others will hotly dispute this claim.

When Dirk Kuyt signed for us in 2006 we'd signed the Feyenoord captain - a beloved striker by the fans with one of the most impressive goal records in Dutch football. The early days of his Liverpool career were fantastic - he didn't score too many but he worked harder than anyone else on the pitch. He looked a quality player and scoring the final goal in Liverpool's Champions League Final loss to AC Milan in Athens.

After Liverpool had experienced the heartbreak of defeat in Europe's most prestigeous competition, Kuyt faced further heartbreak when his father lost his battle with cancer and past away. While the Dutchman claims it did not effect his football form - he was a truely abysmal player last season. With only 3 league goals to his name, Kuyt found himself struggling for a place in the first team. Unable to find the back of the net with consistency, Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez found a place for Dirk in the starting lineup. Kuyt was converted from a striker to a right-sided midfielder and Liverpool's form turned around. Kuyt found himself scoring important goals once more.

This season Dirk Kuyt has been pivotal for Liverpool. We simply would not be as successful as we are currently if he was out of the first team. To look at his impact on the team we have to see what Dirk Kuyt adds to our side. He is an attacking player who plays primarily on the right side of our midfield or as a striker - so let us first look at what is usually a good indicator of a quality wide-midfield player.

What we usually expect from wingers in England is for them to have great technical ability, for them to be able to run with the ball at fullbacks. Kuyt is a player known for his relatively poor technical ability. He is not blessed with great pace. It is usually quite rare for him to take on fullbacks head on. It is quite clear the Dutch attacker is not your typical wide player. What Dirk Kuyt offers to a side is very valuable and not every player can offer it. He is a rare gem of a player, despite his lack of technical ability.

So what talents does he bring to the table? He's got the striker instincts with fantastic off the ball movement. Even when he was in very poor form last season, you could still see his predatory striker instinct. He knows how to get the ball on target - which is the first step to scoring. He always takes up great attacking possitions and makes himself an attacking outlet. This season he's been contributing many goals and assists because of this. These predatory instincts highlight the big man's vesatility. We've been playing him mostly as a right winger (although in an atypical winger role). But he's also more than handy as a striker. Being able to play well in more than one position makes him a very valuable player.

Kuyt's industriousness has been key in Liverpool's title challenge

Perhaps his greatest value to a club like Liverpool is his tremendous workrate. He is an attacking player who never forgets his defensive duties. If he loses the ball, you can guarantee he will do everything he can to get it back. He will track back further than you can imagine and will happily march all the way up to the opposition's byline. The effort he puts in on the pitch is amazing and most fans appreciate any no-nonsense, hardworking player, who will consistently put himself on the line to grab the team a win.

Something that goes hand in hand with his workrate is his amazing stamina and physical ability. I think moving him out wide onto the right really showcases his physicality and stamina. He may not have great pace, but he has great endurance and is not likely to get bullied by defenders. Instead he is likely to attempt to bully the defenders and use his stamina to wear them down. I think this is a tremendous part of his game.

Furthermore, Kuyt is mentally very strong. You can see it in the way he plays. He really understands the game - he takes intelligent possitions on the pitch and he works well with players like Gerrard, Torres, and Babel when we counter attack. He was the captain of Feyenoord and he has leader qualities, he's never moaning about anything on the field and is always seen encouraging his teammates and that is something that is great to see from your players. And to come back from a tragic loss which learly effected him deeply, coming back from some truly terrible form and working hard to establish yourself in the first team at a club like Liverpool takes some real mental fortitude and if you don't believe that then I simply just don't know what to say to you.

So I think Dirk Kuyt is an unsung hero, really. He brings a lot to our side and despite his limitations is a very talented player. This season he's really proven that with the amount of assists he has racked up - and is currently our joint top scorer (sharing the title with our glorious captain Steven Gerrard MBE).

Keep posted, my friends, there will be more updates this week. The topics of discussion will be: Steven Gerrard and his 10 years at this football club, our fullback situation, and an in-depth analysis of what I think Liverpool's starting lineup should be.